Just about a month ago GOP Gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos took to the airwaves with an ad that stated his hope that the race not focus on attack ads and pointing out negatives. He should heed his own advice.
Never mind that the DeVos campaign already had negative ads on the air for several months beating up Governor Granholm over the Michigan economy- something which any high school economics student could probably point out has a lot more to the with the fortunes of the Big 3 auto makers and the decisions of their executives than anything one state's governor can control especially one with a state house and senate in the hands of the opposing party that refuses to work with her in an effort to prevent her from having a record to run on. DeVos was clearly trying to get the state Democratic Party to hold its fire since Dem Party Chair Mark "How Many Races Can I Lose Yet Keep My Job?" Brewer has been consistenly hammering DeVos for giving workers pink slips in America while adding jobs in China when he was top dog at Amway/Alticor/Quixtar/Pyramids 'R Us. This was also at the same time that Granholm was finally getting ads on the air, both from her own campaign and from the state Democratic Party defending her record but obviously likely laying the ground to finally hit back at DeVos due to his deep pockets his attcks have been going mostly unchallenged for several months. And never mind the fact that DeVos has featured in his ads a guy (with an accent that sounds strangely like those guys from Saturday Night Live who rooted for "Da Bears" so I wonder if he's even "from around here" if you know what I mean) saying a four letter word- I thought the DeVos family was all about high moral values and enshrining Christian dogma into law so as to oppose the liberal Homosexual agenda that fills our media with content that could harm our children- and yet when it helps him attack Granholm it suddenly becomes OK to air obscenities over the public airwaves for my five year old son to hear. Now, DeVos is bombarding the airwaves with not just one, but two, negative ads blasting Granholm- one for not courting foreign car makers and inducing them to bring their factories to Michigan and the other featuring "people on the street" saying Granholms hasn't "done what she promised" with no indication of what those promises were.
So, the moral relativity of the DeVos campaign has been exposed- he's against negative ads when they might show him as a guy who hands out pink slips to Michigan workers who, as his wife and immediate past Chair of the Michigan Republican Party has stated, "make too much money" but he's for negative ads if they can bring down his opponent without him having to actually tell us where he stands on the issues. And now that the Republican have gone around the Governor's veto and eliminated the SBT, DeVos doesn't even have that to use. Expect more attack ads because that's all Dick's got.
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19 comments:
Great post, and your conclusion is one people are finally starting to realize.
In regards to DeVos' religion, his latest ad is filled with lies (as were earlier ones, which the media politely called him on). I don't know of any major religion that condones lying.
The lesson here? Keep your children away from his commercials. All they'll learn is that lying and swearing is acceptable by GOP standards.
My favorite commercial is the one with the yooper complaining "crap, I gotta leave the state" I just want to reach through the television and grab him by the collar and scream "Move to the lower peninsula!" There has never been plentiful jobs in the U.P.. Time to close the pastie shop, and move to Grand Rapids.
1. "Guy not from around these parts" has Yooper accent.
2. I think Granholm should be taken to task for not courting Honda. She dropped the ball, pure and simple.
As for Granholm being the fiscally responsible one, what was that plane ride for her daughter and her daughter's friends for a slumber party on Mackinac Island all about?
Mud is on all sides.
Notice at bottom of Reminder page 32 ... County Board meeting rescheduled to WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 7:00 PM
Ag, that's the line I refer to with the 4 letter word comment. The DeVos campaign should cut that CRAP out! What about the CHILDREN!!!!!????
Jay, yea, dat's probably a Yooper accent all right. Jus' jokin' around a bit, eh. And it's easy to point out the ONE that got away, meanwhile how many other companies was Granholm courting? She did meet with many execs while in Japan and came back with some deals and sealed Google right after. Maybe non-union Japanese auto manufacturing plants isn't what she's after- after all, wouldn't that exacerbate what everyone agrees is wrong with the state of the Michigan economy- a lack of diversity? While we can take her "to task" for a lot, the point remains that Dick acted like he'd keep the race "positive" and now has 2 different negative ads on an endless loop. He needs to be taken to task for that.
To me those ads don't sound very negative. I admit, negativity is a relative term. Now the Butler ads against Bouchard really soured my thoughts on Butler. If Dick wanted to go really negative on Jennifer he could launch a Selapak ad a la Willy Horton (not the Detroit Tiger).
Every candidate says they'll keep it positive, but contrasts have to be made. I think these ads hit the mark.
To blame Governor Granholm for the inability of Ford and General Motors to cope with the 'free market', which seems to be the mantra of the Right Wing Repulican Party is infantile.
It seems that the domestic auto makers have just figured out why their inventory of SUV hogs and pickups are dying of 'lot rot'.
A day late and a dollar short.
As for Honda Jay, you seem able to quote the Empty Suit guy from the barely legal Pyramid scheme, or at least his advertising.
Were you paying attention, Governor Granholm has brought Toyota, Hundyi (sp) and other asian R&D to Michigan. As you and the Empty Suit guy well know, Honda was never a player on the Michigan scene.
This state is going to have to loose it's redneck mentality and move to improve itself and stop trying to ape Mississippi for the bottom of the barrel.
Foreign production fascilities are locating in redneck land but the people who have to make their companies run are here, New York and California, where education is still not optional.
Michigan is headed in the right direction as far as the governor's office is concerned. As for the bought and paid for legislature who happily blew a 2 Billion Dollar whole in the budget, a disgrace. We are asked to trust these bozos to enact a magic formula after the election.
As Jay seemed to miss, impartial studies have clearly shown that the SBT despite Right Wing Republican Propaganda, is not a significant factor in business location.
What Jay and the Guy in the Empty Suit seem most interested in is phantom tax reductions...
Pat:
R&D facilities have little impact on the health of the State's economy. Besides, they were in a part of the state (Ann Arbor/Western Wayne)that hasn't been suffering as hard as other areas of the state.
Honda would of meant manufacturing jobs from an automaker that isn't cutting jobs in North America.
I'm sorry, but if I was Govenor and my state was hemmoraging jobs, I fight to attract any and all industry that I could, not pick and choose what I bring based on a spoils system.
Granholm vetoed a bill that would put a redistribution plant in Three Oaks, her bumbling probably cost us a Toyota plant near Marshall as well.
Her waffling on if she met with Honda or not clearly illustrates that she dropped the ball. DeVos is well within his perview to criticize her on this.
Also, when were Indiana and Ohio considered "redneck states"?
Sibbravo, I posted the research fact that Michigan's (or any state's) desirability as a place to headquarter a business has more to do with roads, schools, and cultural assets than taxes. The SBT has been in place for over a generation and it sunsets in a couple of years, but now, all of a sudden, people like you hop on the DeVos bandwagon and all cry "jobs killer" in unison. It was a terrible tax imposed on businesses over 30 years ago by Republicans. Now we should believe them that they can figure out how to come up with the $2 billion in cuts needed to offset it. Give me a break. Let it die on the vine but move ahead now with tax reform.
Theres no such thing as a good tax huh, simpbravo?
Maybe this will settle it for the ones who insist on arguing with only right wing talking points instead of facts...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14683892.htm
Some choice quotes:
"Sixty percent of the 250,000 businesses in the state pay no SBT and 70 percent pay less than $1,000 a year."
"A recent survey reveals that about a fourth of companies say the SBT is their most troublesome cost, while about a fifth picked local property taxes. But the top two complaints involved insurance and utility costs (respondents were allowed two choices). The survey of 558 businesses statewide was conducted April 3-9 by Lansing-based EPIC/MRA."
"Michigan's business tax burden isn't especially heavy compared to other states, according to a recent study of state and local business taxes prepared by Ernst & Young in conjunction with The Council on State Taxation in Washington.
That study ranks Michigan 26th nationally in state business tax competitiveness, with $14.2 billion collected annually in state and local business taxes in fiscal 2005. That was about 40.8 percent of all state and local taxes paid, below the national average of 43.6 percent.
Those taxes account for 4.3 percent of Michigan's gross state product, below the national average of 4.8 percent and less than other Great Lakes states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota."
Don't give the conservatives more ideas on ways to extract money from the public while pushing their simplistic social agenda.
Now for the third time Sibbravo, the SBT is sunsetted. We've had it for over a generation. Where have you been for 30yrs? As 87th dist dem candidates Becca Lukasiewicz and David Brinkert both campaigned against the SBT but yet the Barry and Ionia voters chose Newell. The SBT was a tax imposed by Republicans and kept by Republicans and now DeVos wants to make it his defining campaign issue against Granholm.
This legislature cannot possibly deal with reforming the state tax structure in a year or two. Two weeks on debating the state bird and they could not come to a concensus. I'm not sure they have the capacity to ever do it.
If the SBT goes, where do you propose the cuts to be made? Or do you propose more taxes?
The personal property tax is another one that needs to get the boot. That is why we need total tax reform, not piecemeal.
If Granholm had half a political brain, she would propose sweeping tax reform in the state and then tackle the insurance industry next.
You all may have forgotten that Governor Granholm proposed cutting personal property taxes on manufacturers two years ago...but Sikkema and fello lackeys said they would not pick winners and loosers...Short memories perpetuate bad politics...
First, we're asked to produce studies but then when we do we're told they don't mean anything. Nice to see how you move the goalposts- I can see now how you can find something that contradicts itself in dozens of place to be "infallible."
"Sixty percent of the 250,000 businesses in the state pay no SBT and 70 percent pay less than $1,000 a year."
I'm going to try to remember this factoid. It is further proof that Mom and Pop businesses represent about 70% of Michigan businesses. If a person were to make it easier for moms/pops to get started he would be called a booster of economic development.
A good Democrat would ask if the 30% that pay the SBT employ >=< workers than the ones that don't. That, of course would lead to wondering what was the "whole truth" which won't sell papers.
If it turned out that the MomPop folks employed most of the people and earned more total income for the State than the dying Big Three or Four, perhaps providing services would get noticed in the MoTown media that supports oil consumption as a way of life to be desired.
Imagine a newpaper replacing the Auto section with a MomPop section.
Hey el Grillo, here are my Saturday morning ramblings for what they are worth.
The success of Mom & pop operations are married to interest rates. Its amazing how many finance their start ups with credit cards. Others tap equity in their homes and a few lucky ones have deep pocketed financial angels support them. As interest rates rise, the already high risk of new business failure gets higher. In this climate of high interest and fuel rates, new businesses have little chance of success.
Local governments serve as an impediment to small business with restrictive zoning, permit requirements, personal property taxes, high property taxes on commercial property, etc. Yet, the state, especially under Engler, gave farmers super low loans under the guise of "emergency". At least once, the Engler admin offered up 0% (yes, zero) loans to farmers. This was on top of federal assistance. We extend accelerated depreciation and land tax breaks to farmers all at a cost to other taxpaying citizens.
I'm not arguing what we offer to farmers as being right or wrong. Its a matter of what value society places on the industry, political pandering, and other salient factors. But, I ask, what have we done to promote businesses?
The GOP of Mich has been pushing heavily the last five or so years to tax internet transactions. Relying mostly on self-reporting but, more recently proactively sifting through citizens purchasing habits to find tax cheaters. Not only is this anti-business (another unfunded mandate and tax against the user), but the intrusion of a citizens internet purchasing habits, all to satisfy the legislature's quest for easy money, smacks of fascism.
We have created a hostile environment for business start ups, and once started, make it hard to keep them afloat through imposition of regulations and high taxes.
I want to say one thing positive about Calley as our next state rep. At least he's not a retired law enforcement official. We have way too many of them already in the legislature.
Here is timely link
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060830/OPINION01/608300349/1086/opinion
"The success of Mom & pop operations are married to interest rates. Its amazing how many finance their start ups with credit cards."
Well, sentinel, you have me confused. Does this mean that as interest rates rise, and credit becomes less available, there will be more Mom & pop businesses? If that is true, the banking industry is our best hope for economic development in Michigan. As banks charge more and refuse more small business loans, the economy will grow, right?
If we think globally, the real way to encourage developing countries would be to issue all their people a brand new, high limit, low initial rate credit card.
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